From the NEMATYC President

            I hope the excitement of teaching continues.  I have been using some of the information I learned at our 2001 NEMATYC meeting in my Introductory Algebra and Precalculus courses.  Maureen Woolhouse and Carol Hay did a tremendous  job chairing the conference at Middlesex CC in Lowell.  I know how much work is involved in planning a two-day event and I cannot thank Maureen and Carol enough for all they did.  They were able to have 29 sessions plus a Friday evening speaker and Saturday luncheon speaker.  I also want to acknowledge Middlesex Community College’s generosity in helping to defray conference costs.  The 2002 conference plans are well under way.  Please see the call for presenters.  It is crucial that you consider giving a talk.  The conference is only as good as the people who are willing to share their teaching techniques.  Judy Carter is the chairperson and she will appreciate you contacting her with your ideas.  Offers of help will not be refused.  Some people have great ideas, but have never presented at a conference.  Our conference is a unique opportunity to “test the waters.”

NEMATYC OFFICER SELECTION

            Our constitution provides for staggered elections of officers.  This way, new officers are always afforded the help and guidance of working with experienced members and there is continuity of leadership within the Association   This spring, the Association will be electing the following:  President (2 year term.) Vice President (1 year term.),  Secretary (2 year term.) and Executive Committee At-large Member (2 year term.)   Nominations may be submitted to the Nominating Committee (John Jacobs, Ted Panitz, and Elaine Previte).  Nominations can also be made during the business meeting at the spring conference.

Renew your Membership

          If you are unable to attend NEMATYC 2001:  A Math Odyssey, you can still renew your membership.  This will ensure you will receive the Newsletter and notification of future NEMATYC meetings.  Please send your name, preferred mailing address and the $5.00 membership fee to Lois Martin, NEMATYC Treasurer, 25 Lydon Lane, Kingston, MA  02364

Honor Our Adjuncts

            More and more sections of mathematics at our schools are being taught by adjuncts.  Honor them by inviting them to participate in NEMATYC.  Make sure they know of us, our commitment to quality mathematics education and how they can share their ideas at our spring conference.  Ask your administration to support their efforts by funding their attendance at the conference.  They provide a valuable resource to our institutions, they have some great practices and could be more involved.  Many simply need to be asked.

Call for Presenters

NEMATYC 2002: Moving Forward, Looking Backward

April 5^th and 6^th

North Shore Community College, Danvers, MA

Presenter(s) ____________________________________________________________________________

 Contact information:

 College or affiliation __________________________Telephone ___________________

 Address_____________________________________________________________________________

 e-mail     ________________________(if home address and telephone number are preferred, please list those as well.)

 Time Preference:  Please list a first and second choice.  

 ____Friday Afternoon         _____Saturday Morning

 ____Saturday Afternoon     _____ No Preference

Length of presentation:         _____50 Minute       _____100 Minute

Presentation Title:  ______________________________________________________________________

 Abstract:  ______________________________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

 Equipment needs:  ______________________________________________________________________

Workshops, short seminars, discussion panels and poster sessions are encouraged.

You are not limited to this form.  Please feel free to submit additional information.

Questions?     Call Judy Carter:  978 – 762 – 4000

SEND PROPOSALS BY DECEMBER 7, 2001

Mail to Judy Carter, NEMATYC 2002 Chairperson, North Shore CC  1 Ferncroft Rd, Danvers MA  01923

FAX  781 – 477 – 2140   e-mail  jcarter@nscc.mass.edu

FREE AMATYC MEMBERSHIP FOR A STUDENT

The AMATYC Executive Board, with the support from the AMATYC Foundation, has given NEMATYC a complimentary, one-year AMATYC Associate membership for a full-time graduate student from our affiliate.  Association members in AMATYC enjoy the same membership benefits as a regular AMATYC member except for voting privileges.  If you know of a worthy candidate, please complete the following information and forward it to Roberta Kieronski, UNH  Manchester robertak@cisunix.unh.edu.    Information needed:  Name of student and graduate school attending.  Name, telephone and e-mail of person making nomination and why you feel the student is worthy of nomination. In case of multiple submissions, a random drawing will be held.

REVITALIZE YOUR PROFESSIONAL STANDING – JOIN AMATYC

The American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) was established in 1974 and is the only national organization exclusively devoted to improving mathematics education in the first two years of college.  AMATYC’s gals include increasing two-year college student’s success in mathematics through the learning environment and through developing educators of excellence, and promoting and participating in national initiatives that will benefit lower division collegiate mathematics education.  AMATYC provides professional development opportunities for faculty including an annual conference, summer institutes and traveling workshops.  The AMATYC Review, published twice yearly, provides an opportunity to publish articles by and for two –year college faculty.  AMATYC publishes a newsletter five times yearly for its members.  For more information about AMATYC, visit the AMATYC website:  www.amatyc.org.

________________________________________________________________________

First Name                                               MI                           Last Name                                Position

 ________________________________________________________________________

College                                                                     e-mail                                                                                      Phone

 ________________________________________________________________________

College Address                                                                                                                                                       

 _________________________________________________________________________

City                                                                         State                                                                                        Zip

__________________________________________________________________________

Home Address

 _________________________________________________________________________

City                                                                         State                                                                                        Zip

Preferred Address:   __College    __Home    

 Check if you wish to be excluded from     ___AMATYC Directory                                                                                                                              ___Non-AMATYC Mailing           

All payments payable to AMATYC.  All memberships include The AMATYC Review and the AMATYC News

____$50 Yearly Individual Membership     ____$10 Yearly Associate membership (full time student, non voting)

Special membership (excludes full time faculty) do not receive The AMATYC, and do not have voting privileges.

___$25 Yearly Retired        ___$25 yearly Adjunct Faculty

Additional Journals:  __Mathematics and Computer Education $24/3 issues ___The College Mathematics Journal $45/5 issues ___PRIMUS (Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies) $30/4 issues.

Total Amount _____________________   Check # _________ or ___Visa  ___Mastercard   ___Discover

__________________________________________________________________________________

Signature                                                                                                  Credit card #                                                            Expiration Date

Optional Information:  __Male   __Female      __Two-year College  __Four-year College  __other ______________

__African American   __American Indian/Alaskan Native  __Asian  __Hispanic  __White  __other _______________

 Mail to:  AMATYC Office        Southwest Tennessee Community College  5983 Macon Cove, Memphis, TN 38134

Or join AMATYC or renew online at www.amatyc.org

EDITORIAL

             I always find myself doing something different after attending a NEMATYC conference.  Usually it is something on a small scale, but always something.  This time, it is major.  Thanks to several NEMATYC presenters, this 33 year veteran teacher is doing something completely different this semester. It didn’t come from a single presentation by a single advocate of the method.  One seldom gets convinced that easily.  Instead, my new approach came from the familiar process of being successively labeled: dinosaur, stalwart, skeptic, receptive and finally practitioner.  This semester, I chucked the old stand-up lecture for my developmental arithmetic course and am using cooperative learning.  It is a new text, a new approach and new classroom dynamics with which to deal.  Students are actively engaged in their learning and I know them better because I spend 80% of my time answering questions of individuals or groups and only 20% of my time at the chalk board.  Is it working?  Well, one day students were coming out of class and had maliciously twisted a text problem around into an absurdity and were laughing.  The students had both the confidence and comfort with the problem to make a joke and were laughing while coming out of math class.  It made my day.

            The real lesson here is the importance of the NEMATYC conferences.  It is here that those with ideas get to share them with colleagues receptive to new concepts, new methods of teaching and new approaches to old topics.  Got and idea? Share it.  Looking for new ideas?  NEMATYC spring conference is the place.  Attend, share and absorb.

John Jacobs, Editor                 Massachusetts Bay Community College                                   jacobsjo@mbcc.mass.edu

CONFERENCE CHAIR’S MESSAGE

            As this newsletter reaches you, you are probably well into the fall semester.  Probably, you are trying something a little (or a lot!) different in you classes.  By next spring, you’ll know whether your innovations were successful or whether, as occasionally happens they bombed.  Why not share your triumphs and even your setbacks with your colleagues at our annual conference, NEMATYC, 2002?

            As educators, we are always experimenting with new pedagogical methods and classroom strategies, hoping to improve our students’ learning.  When I try something new, most often the idea came from a colleague – through an informal discussion or from a presentation at a mathematical conference.  We are each other’s best professional resource. 

            In this newsletter, you will find a Call for Presenters for NEMATYC 2000.  Please consider making a presentation.  The topic need not be a major innovation.  We are all looking for better classroom management techniques that will motivate our students.  We really have a professional obligation to share our experience.

            At North Shore Community college, we are busy (perhaps frantic) with planning NEMATYC 2002:  Moving Forward, looking Backward.  The conference title refers to 2002’s being a numerical palindrome as well as to the truth that, as educators, we are always working to improve our teaching as well as reflecting back on what we have done in the past.  Please join us on April 5^th and 6^th for collegial sharing and fun!

Judy Carter

NorthShore CC     

1 Ferncroft Road, Danvers, MA  01923          

978 – 762-4000 x 6664  

jcarter@nscc.mass.edu